Senility

[CindyfromRiley]

It's been quite a while since I've been here but now have a couple of concerns to ask about.

 

Cindy will be 13 this year. She's showing signs of going deaf. She ignores my commands, sleeps so deep that she doesn't know when I'm sitting on the floor next to her, but will react when she hears the little Yorkie bark. It's almost like she has selective hearing. Hard to tell and I'm not convinced yet.

 

She was diagnosed with Pituitary Cushings last Fall. She's been on Trilostane and her blood work shows a proper level of Cortisol (I hope I've said that correctly). I don't see any improvement with Trilostane. She will drink her bowl dry and sit there with those beady eyes waiting for me to fill it. Her appetite is ravenous.

 

I mentioned her deep sleep. If I touch her when she's asleep like this she'll jump up and look at me like 'where'd You come from?' She also gets pretty mean and will bite me if I try to get her to do something she doesn't want to do, like getting her out of the car at the vet or groomer, or get her off my chair at the kitchen table.

 

At night she seems terrified and will curl up in a corner under a table and pant until she falls asleep.

 

Is this normal for older Border Collies? Is the seeming deafness normal for her age?

She's otherwise full of energy as she always was, but always a bit aloof.

[Joellen]

The deep sleep and startling when you wake her, along with only being able to hear certain pitches, I would consider "normal". I'm not a vet, but worked as a tech for quite some time. I would think about having her thyroid checked as that can cause aggression, ravenous appetite, and even some of the fear at night, etc. I would think they would have done this when diagnosing the cushings, but you never know. I would also have her kidneys checked, which I would think is probably something they are already monitoring, kidney problems can cause excessive drinking and urinating. Cushings can also cause a good deal of the physical things you are seeing, too.

 

To help her feel safer at night, you might try crating her in your room next to your bed. Throw a tee shirt in with her that is well worn by you. Their sense of smell is one of the last things to go. Also, try leaving a night light on. Imagine if you knew you couldn't hear well or see well, and it's night time - a very vulnerable time if out in the wild - you would probably be looking for shelter where you could not be seen and be quaking in your boots, too. I know our dogs have not been "wild" for some time, but they still retain many of those survival instincts.

 

If it's "doggy Alzheimers" she might be doing other things like getting stuck in a corner of the room, going to the wrong side of the door, not being able to find her way around all the time. She may even just stop and bark for help. There are meds your vet will know about that can help with this and if they are compatible with the cushings meds.

 

The being cranky could be that when you try to move her it's painful, could be part of a thyroid problem, or Alzheimers, or might just be plain old lady crankiness. Might want to try giving her a special treat for moving on her own, or even luring her instead of touching her to get her to move.

 

Hope this helps some. Best of luck with your elderly girl.

[urge to herd]

What Joellen said. Samantha, who lasted till age 15 yrs and 3 months, was very hard of hearing the last year or so of her life. Shoshone, age 15 or maybe 16, is hard of hearing as well.

 

Both dogs did/do hear certain pitches well. A couple whistles will wake Shonie up, when practically yelling her name doesn't. Stomping on the floor wakes her, too. Shonie startles quite a bit if I touch her when she's asleep, so I whistle or stomp.

 

I'd suspect that your girl is achy from arthritis, and that it's hard for her to move, and maybe painful to be picked up or pushed, even gently.

 

It's not a border collie thing, it's an old dog thing. Enjoy her.

 

Ruth

[CindyfromRiley]

So far there's no sign of anything that I would suspect as Alzheimer's, at least the signs that you've described. In certain respects I think she's always been cranky, independent-minded, and very aloof. She seldom wants to be cuddled.

 

She is due this week for another ACTH test but I'll make sure she does her business beforehand. The original X-rays couldn't prove or disprove Adrenol Cushings as she hadn't defecated, blocking a good view of both glands.

 

As far as enjoying her, I really do. She is a spectacular girl, intelligent and fast. I never had to resort to using a whistle but after you mentioned pitch awareness it seems like a good idea to start, even now.

 

Thank you.